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Head gasket failures, which years, models?

Have been browsing this forum for the past year before joining , ( was so impressed with all the knowledge, this newbie still didn't feel worthy ) and all I can say is a big THANK YOU to all the moderators and posters who really know their stuff about Subies and have helped those of us don't. Best recommendations for mods and what to do about car problems I've gotten have from this site.

My question: Have searched the forums, but would like the definitive answer on how to tell if you have one of the Subarus prone to head gasket failure. I know phase one, 2.5 --- which are the phase 1? Do you go by model, year sold, VIN, manufacture date ?

Heard there's a 20% failure rate, so that means odds are in our favor, right? At what mileage does it begin to show ? I have a 2000 GT Wagon.

Personally I think there is more talk about failure than there IS failure... beinga 2000 I think you are in decent shape... its like 98's and stuff that I HEAR about having problems... (the phase 1's like you said)

Since you are in Oregon with most of us... you need to rallycross with us

You have a Phase II engine in your car. The Phase II does not blow the head gasket with the apparent alarming frequency of the Phase I.
Further the Phase tends to have an EXTERNAL head gasket failure. The engine weeps coolant. The Phase I tends to have INTERNAL gasket failures. The engine exhaust gases drive the coolant from the engine block and..... BAM... warped heads or even loss of the entire engine.
I would not be overly concerned about head gasket failure on the Phase II. But remember the Phase II still is an interference engine. Check and replace your timing belt on schedule. I hate interference engines- small gain, huge potential risk.

hey Subiegal,
Which Dealerships do you and your other 1/2 work at and can you recommend a good service dept? I live in Seattle and have heard not many good and lot's of bad experiences with all the Seattle Dealership service departments. I work in Renton and Walker's is close by but a girl I work with took her OBW in and they gave her the run-around ($$$) and didn't fix a thing. Currently we have a 96 L wagon AWD and the AT OIL TEMP light flashes for a few seconds at start up. After reading this board it's hard to believe there is a competent service department out there. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Thank you for all the info. I feel much better now about the head gasket issue. Well, except for Subiegal's comment about the phase 2 --- hopefully that is a very small minority.

Great link, Flowmastered ! I didn't know about the website and a rally here would be something to look forward to. Btw - is there any local Subaru dealer here in Portland that'll do warranty work without giving me the brush off?

set on stun. sorry Star Trek joke just slipped out.
When I had mine updated I went for the latest gaskets which are supposed to be a fix.
If one of these folks with a good memory does not post the latest numbers I can look up what went into mine.

my 93 legacy wagon has 325,000 on it without any engine problems ever. All this 2.5 talk about headgaskets is making me think "non-subaru' when it comes time to get another used vehicle in the future. I was thinking of getting a used 2.5 with 100,000 or so, but I doubt it after reading about these headgaskets. I planned on getting a used 100,000er hoping to have something as reliable as my 2.2. seems that isn't the case, am I wrong?